ZNT Anniversary
by Dolce Saito
Summary: Drabbles and one-shots for ZNT anniversary week.
1. Firsts

**First Anniversary / Birthday**

Lisa's alarm beeped at 4 a.m. and she was fully awake in an instant; pushing up into a sitting position, she pulled the covers away and made a dash to her desk, stumbling once in the process and falling to her knees with a thud before scrambling back up to turn off her phone. She held her breath, waiting for any signs of movement or voices in the room adjacent to hers. She was now a little angry at herself for thinking that by leaving her phone far from her bed there would be no chance of her falling back to sleep. It had been dumb, she was too excited about today to care about sleep in the first place, so the only thing she had accomplished was making a small ruckus when what she needed was complete and utter silence, if either Nine or Twelve woke up, her plan would be ruined. She listened on, staying perfectly still, but their apartment remained silent.

She would have to be more careful now. No more mistakes.

She padded softly out to the hall and peeked into the room next to hers. For once she wished Nine and Twelve were more in the habit of closing their bedroom door, but they always left it ajar in case there was an emergency. She reached for the handle and began closing it, hoping it wouldn't make a noise. She froze when Twelve turned over in his bed, facing her, but he made no indication of being awake and after a beat Lisa softly closed their door.

Their apartment was by no means big, but at least there was a decent distance between the bedroom area and the kitchen and living room.

She turned a small lamp on and looked at her surroundings with determination, nodding once to herself, she got to work.

* * *

Some three hours later, Twelve stood with mouth agape just outside his and Nine's bedroom door.

 _Where had all of this come from?_

Streamers of blue, white and red hung from every wall. There were balloons neatly arranged in patterns of three decorating every door and corner of the apartment, some of them casually strewn about on the floor.

The faint scent of breakfast came from the kitchen, a sweet aroma mixing with the particular scent of Nine's coffee as it brewed. Soft yellow waves floated before his eyes as Lisa hummed softly from the living room area. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a handwritten banner neatly taped to their door, framed by theme colored garlands _"Happy one year anniversary!"_

He heard Nine sitting up in bed and letting out a soft moan as his nostrils detected the caffeinated fragrance coming from outside. "Did Lisa decide to get up early today?" he asked, reaching out for his glasses.

Twelve didn't answer, simply turning to Nine, eyes slightly widened and mouth still open in shock.

"What?" Nine asked and then cocked his head, his eyes turning to slits as he tried reading the banner from where he sat. "What anniversary?"

Twelve was starting to get an idea of what this might be as his brain slowly crawled out of the shock of the moment. "Let's go find out."

They walked into the living room; to say their apartment had been redecorated was an understatement. Lisa had somehow gotten her hands on all things blue, white and red, cushions, throws, you name it. The girl in question stood now on the top of a ladder, her back to them, still wearing her pajamas, and trying hard to knot the remaining side of a bigger banner high above their T.V. set.

" _Lisa_ ," Twelve kept his voice soft but the girl's tiny frame still jumped in place as she turned head towards his voice, losing balance in the process, true to her klutzy nature.

Both boys rushed over, Twelve managing to grab her by the waist as she slipped, and Nine taking a hold of the ladder.

" _What are you doing?"_

" _Are you okay?"_

Startled, Lisa nodded as Twelve lowered her to the floor "I thought I still had some time until you two got up, it's barely seven. I…ah…um…this," she looked nervously around, wondering if she had gone overboard. "This is to celebrate our first year together, and also, a little birthday celebration for you two? Since you two have yet to—I didn't know when—and I figured…"

As Lisa rambled in nervous whispers to herself, Nine and Twelve turned their heads to read the slightly slanted banner, it read the same lines as the one on their door but with caricature versions of the three of them under the big letters, Lisa was standing in the middle, holding their hands and smiling brightly back at them, a small dialogue bubble floated above her head wishing them a happy birthday.

Lisa stopped mid-sentence when the silence suddenly seemed to become heavy around the two guys standing next to her. Their eyes seemed to travel over the words again and again as if they expected the words to change on them.

"Are you okay?" she inquired, automatically reaching for Twelve's hand and tilting her head at Nine.

"Lisa, I don't know what to—this is—" Twelve squeezed her hand but turned to Nine, whose stare was still glued to the banner, it seemed to be the bespectacled guy's turn to gape, much like Twelve had done earlier "I think you managed to leave Nine speechless and drooling,"

Nine ripped his stare from the banner to shoot a slightly irritated look at Twelve, but even after a moment he couldn't hide the pleased little curve set at the corner of his mouth.

"This is nice. Thank you, Lisa." He said, reaching to touch the top of her head in an awkward pat, before he turned around and headed straight to the kitchen and for his morning cup of coffee.

"I think he needs a moment to gather himself after all that disgusting gushing of emotions." Twelve said.

Lisa smiled, pleased with Nine's reaction. She hadn't exactly expected Nine to be on board with this. She was even prepared to hear him say it was silly or to simply ignore it.

"We have never celebrated a birthday or an anniversary in our lives… not any good ones anyway, and definitely not… this way."

As his words reached her ears, Lisa began turning towards Twelve, detecting the hint of sadness in his tone "Twelve, I'm sorry…"

He pulled her into a tight embrace before she could turn, her back firmly pressed against his chest as he lowered his head to touch his cheek to hers "I hate it when you say sorry when you've done nothing wrong. This is amazing, truly. You're the best, Lisa."

She stayed in his embrace for a moment, letting herself bask in the joy of the moment before finally saying "I…I made breakfast."

He slowly let her go and grinned as she turned to him "Really? Why isn't the fire alarm going off as we speak then?"

Lisa frowned at him "Twelve no-baka!" she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him over to the kitchen table, where Nine was already sat, staring skeptically at the metal plate cover in front of him.

Lisa pouted at them, she took off the covers on each plate revealing a set of dishes: Steamed rice, miso soup, and tamagoyaki. All looking perfect "I can cook much better now, you know?"

"Well it looks…good, actually."

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Yeah, but aren't we used to taking Lisa's meal at face value? What you see is what you get… most of the time."

"Hm, you're right about that… Plus, isn't this still basic cuisine?"

"You two are being unnecessarily mean," Lisa muttered "But fine, if you want we can go out to eat and I'll just—" she reached for Nine's plate but he pulled it back, shaking his head. When she looked at Twelve he was already digging in.

"This is actually pretty good," Twelve said around a mouthful "Really, really good."

Nine nodded.

"Seriously," Lisa muttered, but sat down again, a smile on her lips as she began eating as well.

They were finishing up when Lisa suddenly stood up. "There's cake too!"

Nine and Twelve exchanged looks.

Lisa pursed her lips "I bought it, I know I'm not ready to bake a cake yet."

"It's early for cake." Nine said.

"Yeah, I suppose. I bought candles and all though; a set for each one of you so you can take turns and make a wish and maybe—"

She stopped when she saw the grin on Twelve's face as Nine shook his head.

"… maybe I got too excited."

"You really went all out; and the day just began," Twelve reached out to touch her hand when she sat down again. "Again, thank you, Lisa."

She nodded, her excitement suddenly gone. Twelve glanced at Nine with worry and then tilted his head at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing… well, I was…I was just thinking, it would be nice if we could celebrate your actual birthdays."

Twelve smiled softly and Nine sighed "We don't have birthdays Lisa, what you did today, it's more than enough."

"Everyone should have a birthday,"

"It's not essential, we've gone all of our lives without one."

Although Nine's statement was true Twelve still frowned at him. He still needed

"Then… when do you decide you're one year older. You have to at least have a date for that."

"New year's," Nine answered simply "It's easier that way."

"Both of you?"

Twelve shrugged, the move was almost imperceptible but Lisa was now used to the subtleties of his gestures, and the way he averted his eyes told her he wasn't exactly happy with Nine's arrangement.

"Well, I think you should pick a date…um…a date of your liking and separate dates would also be best."

Twelve turned his attention back to her, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips, but he remained silent as Nine shook his head. "There's no need for that."

Lisa frowned "Of course there is! You told me you wanted to live normal lives. Normal people have birthdays, and I want to be able to celebrate them because you're important to me. I want it to be special, for you."

"This is special," Nine and Twelve said in unison, and Lisa blinked at them.

Twelve laughed "But I see your point, Lisa. I think I would like that."

"Really?"

Twelve nodded, "Nine might be a little harder to convince, but personally, I'd love a summer birthday. Not today though, this a special occasion for different reasons. How about June?"

Lisa beamed at him "Yes,"

"June 20!"

Nine frowned at Twelve "Look at all that thought you gave it."

Twelve smiled mischievously "I can change it whenever I want."

Lisa's smiled wavered "That's not exactly how it works…" but she let it go and turned to Nine "When would you like your birthday to be, Nine?"

"I don't need a birthday."

"Can I choose for him?" Twelve offered, raising a hand and bouncing eagerly on his seat.

"Eh…"

"Absolutely not." Nine said.

"Let's give him a summer birthday too!"

"Twelve, I don't think—" Lisa glanced nervously between the two, Nine was starting to shoot daggers at Twelve with his eyes.

"June 21st!"

"I don't want a summer birthday."

"You said you didn't care."

"I'm fine with new year's."

"We're just trying to help you here."

"Yes, a lot of help you're giving me by assigning my birthday the very next day after yours."

"Ehh…" Twelve's lips curled "Are you saying you don't want my left-over cake?"

Nine narrowed his eyes.

"How about… January, since you like new year so much. But after the 1st , maybe a date within the first couple of weeks?" Lisa offered.

Nine seemed to actually consider this and then frowned at Twelve "Don't think I don't know what you did here. Fine. Pick a date in January."

Twelve started opening his mouth before Nine interrupted him "And NOT the twelfth."

Lisa leaped from her chair, and gave Nine a quick hug before turning to Twelve and doing the same. "Thank you, guys!"

"Now that we finally have birth dates set, and this is our first official birthday, does this mean we're turning one today?" Twelve snickered over Lisa's shoulder.

Lisa laughed, pulling away, as Nine chocked on his drink. "Don't be stupid."

"I'll go mark the dates on my calendar then. Then we can all get ready and go out to celebrate your first unofficial birthday!" Lisa clapped her hands together and walked off to her bedroom.

"I think she's more excited about it than both of us combined." Twelve said, his gaze following the girl until she disappeared down the hall. "It's been a while since I last saw her so happy about something. I don't know how we'll keep up with her today. Not that I'm complaining."

"She'll tire soon. She did get up at 4 a.m. to prepare everything."

"You noticed too, eh?"

"With all the noise she made…" Nine smirked.

Twelve laughed. "We got very lucky, Nine."

Nine didn't say anything but Twelve thought he saw him nod before he got up and started gathering the dishes. "Come on, let's hurry and clean up before she gets back."

 **0111001010110010100101**

 **Dolce S.- Even though I had more than enough time to write this I ended up doing so on the very first day of anniversary week and it was a little bit rushed. My fault. I procrastinate like no other person on the planet.  
Also, I haven't abandoned my other stories, thank you so much for the reviews, I've just been on a long hiatus of sorts. But I promise they will be updated, eventually. I suck, sorry.**


	2. Connections

**Moment after episode 7. Takes place during the scene on the roof on episode 8.**

"Don't get too involved."

How many times had Nine told Twelve this?

He leans back on the wall and observes the silhouette of his friend, haloed by the morning sun.

Twelve looks so content. As if hours before he hadn't snapped at Nine in worry for someone he swore he wouldn't get involved with. As if he hadn't put more importance on the life of a single individual than on those of hundreds of people.

He is shameless.

Nine isn't the only one with bruises on his back now. He had seen the reminders of their night and their impromptu rescue mission on his friend's skin after they got back to their apartment, specks of green and purples were already blotting his shoulder blades.

But Twelve hasn't even mentioned it, he doesn't show any signs of discomfort or pain. He even carried a sleeping Lisa to their couch after she fell asleep on the ride back home.

She, too, seems to lack any shame.

Lisa had barely gotten a scrape after jumping from that plane. Twelve had taken the brunt of her fall and yet, he had been the one asking her if she was okay, congratulating her on her courage, and reassuring her that all was going to be okay.

Nine sighs.

Twelve is in too deep. And now it's up to Nine to undo it, because things are about to get more serious than ever and he can't have Twelve distracted and worried about the safety of the girl when he needs his full attention on the plan. Another mistake and all of them could end up dead.

"Twelve…about last night—"

"Thank you, I'm sorry I hadn't said it." Twelve turns around and he's smiling, so very brightly.

When was the last time he had seen Twelve genuinely happy?

Nine opens his mouth but Twelve interrupts again. "You changed the plan, to save her."

"There was no plan at that point." Nine corrects.

"I know, but your initial reaction was to save the people at the airport, it was the safest move, the most logical. I realize that."

Nine doesn't disagree, a lot could have gone wrong while trying to save Lisa. A lot almost did. Logical and safe had gone out the window the moment Twelve decided Lisa was too important to become a necessary casualty.

Twelve's golden brown eyes narrow and he looks almost apologetic. But Nine knows better. "I just want you to know that I am aware of the risk we took by saving Lisa, and letting Shibazaki take care of the people at the airport. I know we put a lot on the line."

' _I'm glad you're aware of it. Now, you'll know better than to let it happen again. It's time to let her go, Twelve.'_

Nine knows this was what he should be saying but the words that come out of his mouth are in disharmony with his thoughts. "You were emotional. Five gaining the upper hand like that was something neither of us expected. You weren't thinking straight."

He doesn't expect Twelve's quick laugh "No, for a moment, I wasn't."

And that's how he knows it's too late. Twelve didn't just get too involved. He has formed a bond; a bond that isn't going to be easy to sever when he's no longer even trying to deny it.

Nine will try reasoning with him again, but not now. Not when he looks so happy it makes Nine's chest ache with something akin to jealousy and fear.

"We should go buy more food. Lisa's attempt at cooking a meal almost depleted our reserves."

Twelve laughs again, this time with fondness. "We need to teach her how to cook. I doubt she'll stop trying anytime soon, so might as well."

He's thinking long term. Long term has never been an option before. Nine turns around, shoving a hand in his pocket and curling it into a fist until it hurts.

Twelve walks by him, humming a happy tune and Nine relaxes again.

He would pretend for one more day. That's all he would give Twelve before he's forced to shatter his little illusion of normalcy. Before he starts getting ideas that will only cause him more suffering when he remembers they aren't supposed to have a future with anyone.

"Should we wake Lisa?" Twelve asks, looking up at him from the bottom of the stairs.

Nine shakes his head.

"I'll write her a note then. I don't want her to wander out on her own until we've dealt with that jerk, Five."

Nine starts to nod but Twelve has already disappeared inside their apartment.

Just one more day, and Twelve would have to deal with reality.


	3. Colors

**Day 4: Lisa's day**

Lisa sits on a cold steel chair, alone with Twelve at last.

She doesn't look at him at first, her stare is downcast and her hands are fisted on her filthy skirt. They had given her clothes to change in but she had refused them. She only needed one thing, and now that she had finally been granted permission to do it, she doesn't seem to be able to move or speak. Or even look at him.

It's so silent in here, so different to the noisy world outside.

And she thought Nine had taken care of that…

How long before it gets even louder out there? Could she get used to it again?

She sighs, and for a moment she forgets where she is and what she's supposed to be doing.

Her mind has been working in fits and starts since yesterday. She can't concentrate. She can't think straight. Her mind wanders off, and she feels constantly disoriented.

All she has done for the past several hours is either shake her head or nod when spoken to, sit, stand, pace, wait. She refused food and water several times until the detective conditioned her visit to her drinking and eating something.

A part of her brain keeps telling her to just wait for the world to right itself, to just be patient and wait for things to fall into place as they should. She'll know what to do then. She'll know how to function properly again, and if she doesn't…

But as she waits, the weight on her chest only gets heavier.

She lifts her head. That part of her still in denial is fully expecting Twelve to be sitting in front of her, ready to take her face between his hands and laugh at her for being so silly.

But he's not sitting.

He's not laughing.

He's not even looking at her.

 _He isn't even Twelve._

What did they do to him? What did _they_ **do** to him?

She stands up, knocking the chair back a step, and leans over his prone body, her hands hover over his chest as her eyes dart from his face, to his arms, to his torso.

They had changed his clothes, cleaned the blood, and combed his hair back. The bruises on his face had been treated with some powdery pale substance to disguise them, and he looked almost as white as the clothes on him and the sheet covering him from the waist down.

It's wrong. He looks wrong.

Her mouth opens and closes and her hands tremble. She needs to make him right.

 _He wasn't 'right' before and he isn't 'right' now, Lisa._

There's a voice in her head that she doesn't recognize as her own. It's annoying and logical and it needs to shut up, because she doesn't have the time to stop and listen to it when Twelve needs her help.

Her hand seems to steady as she reaches over to wind her fingers through his brown waves of hair, brushing bangs of hair onto his forehead with her fingertips, styling it the way he always wore it.

When she's done she focuses on his face.

His lips are so pale. So dry. She looks around the room and runs over to a sink, cupping one hand under the stream of water before hurrying back to his side. Her hand dripping, she traces his lips gently with her thumb until they're moist.

She runs her damp hand over his cheek, sketching the outlines of the bruises that they had tried to cover with whatever it is that is now sticking to her hands as well. She rubs it off his cheeks, his jaw, his chin, until the bruises and scrapes are visible again.

She gives his white clothing a frown. Long sleeves, in summer.

Why is it all so wrong?

 _Why does it matter?_

But she shakes her head, rolling up his sleeves carefully, ignoring how heavy his limbs feel under her hands.

He also probably _hates_ white. They had stripped him of all color. They didn't understand the importance of it in his life. He is just another corpse to them. They didn't even know him.

She grits her teeth, her mind going to a darker place. **_They didn't even know him_**. How could they do it? How could they do this?

 _"Twelve…"_ her voice is tiny in her ears, so faint she isn't sure if she's just thinking his name or actually saying it.

 _You haven't even realized yet._

He still doesn't look like himself. His skin is still too pale, the shadows under his eyes are too deep, his chest is too still.

She can't fix him.

Her shoulders slump and she bites her lip until it bleeds and goes numb.

She sits again, and scoots as close as she can to his side. _How can I help you?_

She waits for a reply.

 _Stop it. Don't make it any harder than it has to be._

But she stubbornly waits on for another minute. Because it's not right. It can't be. She needs his voice. Loud and happy; soft and calming; quivering with laughter (laughing with her, laughing _at_ her), telling her it will be alright, telling her she can get through it. Because she's strong and capable, and he's the only one who has ever believed that about her and told her so.

It _can't_ be right because he's her only friend and she has no one else. Life can't just take everything away from you like this. It has to be a joke, a nightmare. She must have stumbled into a perverse alternate universe because no higher power can possibly be this unfair.

She takes one of his hands between hers and lowers her forehead to it. There must be a way to make it right.

And so she starts bargaining with the God she thought had been ignoring her all her life because she hadn't needed him enough. Her problems had been petty, and common, and always within her power to fix. Right? God didn't bother himself with the small things.

He would listen now. Because this is different, only divine intervention can help.

She will give anything he asks of her. Make any necessary sacrifice in her life to be able to undo the last twenty-four hours.

She will even make herself personally responsible for Twelve's life from now on.

Twelve only needs to open his eyes and give her the opportunity to make it all up to him.

If he lives she will make sure his life is how it was always supposed to be: Filled with love, light, and laughter. She will personally see to it that he never feels lonely, unwanted or unloved. She'll show _him_ the world for a change. Everything he missed out on while being in that institution and after, when his entire life had shrunk to a plan for revenge. She'll give him a normal life even if she isn't entirely sure what that means. That's fine. They will find out together what normal entails. She'll wake him every morning with a hug and send him to sleep at night with a kiss to the forehead. She'll hold his hand when he's sad, reassure him when he's doubtful, and make sure his smile never leaves his lips for long. She will treat him the way he had treated her. She will love him like he had loved her.

God won't have to concern himself with Twelve's happiness because she'll be there to make sure his new life is how it should always have been.

So please…

Please,

 _Please!_

She waits for a sign, a sound, a hint of movement, a manifestation of life.

She waits and she waits some more, not realizing that she's crushing his fingers between her hands.

Not that he can feel it.

Not that he can complain.

 _Please._

When she snaps out of it (and realizes that real life doesn't work this way, that her pleas aren't going to be answered by some benevolent deity), she's leaning over his chest, her ear pressed above the area where his heart should be beating, pumping all that blood that he had lost only seconds after being shot.

Nothing.

She straightens up and loosens her grip on his hand, apologizing to him because she thinks it's somehow her fault that God isn't listening to her.

So useless.

.

.

.

 _She knows it's not true, and that he would hate for her to believe that._

She sniffles and wipes her nose with her forearm. She hasn't shed a single tear so far and she shouldn't start now, not in front of him.

 _"_ _I'm fine."_ She assures him (so very softly the silence in the room isn't even disturbed _),_ and kisses his knuckles.

She can hear voices outside and she looks over her shoulder before turning to him again. She was only supposed to say goodbye and leave.

She stands up when she hears the sound of footfalls getting closer, and she can tell the detective is arguing with some other man.

They're being so loud, everyone has been so loud since yesterday, and she wishes they would all quiet down.

She sets Twelve's hand over his stomach. It looks more natural that way.

She hopes he's in peace.

She hopes he's happy wherever he is.

.

.

.

She should say goodbye.

The voices are just outside the door now, and although they have lowered their argument to a whisper she still thinks their resonance alone will shatter her eardrums.

"Mishima-san…"

If the world could just shut up for a minute.

 **0001011100110111001**

 **Dolce S.- I'm sorry for the mess.**


	4. Date

**Day 7: AU. Date.**

Kokonoe Arata can almost feel the angry waves of frustration emanating from Hisami Touji crash against his back as he sits at his desk, hunched over a book and trying his hardest to ignore the nonsense coming his way.

Touji is sitting on their couch, gripping his phone in one hand and angrily scrolling through the information on his screen with the other, "She's too young to be going out on dates,"

Arata turns a page, loudly, trying to give his friend a hint. **. .**

"Who even _is_ this guy? Why didn't she give _us_ his full name? _We_ have a right to know."

Why is he being included in this ridiculous overprotective rant?

"If she was going to be so vague then she should have given me more time to find out who this guy is," Touji curses under his breath and huffs loudly "There are three Takahashi's in her class. _Three,_ Arata. And I'm not even completely sure it's somebody from her class."

There's angry tapping at his back. Touji is still fumbling with his phone. Hacking his way into the students' school records, no doubt.

"I knew that her going back to school was a bad idea, I _knew_ it, even if it's a different school in a different city. School causes nothing but trouble."

Hadn't they agreed to leave their past behind and try to lead normal lives now? Start again. Wasn't this the whole point?

"How can _we_ trust some random stranger with her?"

Arata lifts a brow but he doesn't turn to look at Touji.

Lisa trusting a stranger was how they had become this little dysfunctional family in the first place.

" _We_ shouldn't let her go," Touji continues, and he sounds like he means it "nothing good can come out of this."

Arata turns another page and shifts in his seat, refusing to be dragged into the matter. No matter how many times Touji says "we" or "us".

Mishima had spent over a year with them already and she had faced things far more dangerous than a date with a kid her age. Touji is acting very childish. He never cares if Mishima hangs out with her new group of friends. He even encourages it. How could this be any different?

"Okay, I'm letting her know _we_ do not want her going out."

He hears Touji stand up and he sighs and turns. The brunet needs to be stopped before this turns into a bigger deal.

Mishima will owe him one.

"You are in no position to tell her what she can or can't do,"

Touji stops and turns "Aren't we her guardians of sorts?"

"We are only one year older,"

"Then _you_ say something, you have this whole authoritative parent thing going on. She'll listen to you, I'm sure. Even if it's only because you still intimidate her some."

Arata shoots him a mild look, feeling slightly insulted, and Touji deflates, sitting heavily back down on the couch.

"Stop sulking, you'll make her worry," He gets up from the chair at his desk and pats Touji's head with his book as he heads to the kitchen "That girl worries about enough as it is."

"I'm not sulking," Touji mutters through clenched teeth but he glances at the closed bedroom door and his chest tightens.

A timid creak of the door alerts him of her presence and he looks away deliberately as she makes her way out of the bedroom.

"I'm heading out now," she says in a low tone.

He grits his teeth and doesn't answer her, stubbornly looking at the wall.

"Touji-kun?"

Silence.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

Why is she using that tone? He can't just ignore her when she sounds worried. He sighs and turns to look at her.

She is wearing one of her usual cute dresses, this one is a pale yellow, _of all colors_ , there's nothing really out of the ordinary in her outfit but for some reason she looks more attractive than on any other given day, and he can't stand the thought of her going out, alone, looking _cuter,_ with some other guy.

His lips thin and he groans as he pries his eyes away from her.

"Touji," she steps forward, concern etched in her features "what's wrong?"

Unintelligible words float to her ears and she's tilting her head, trying to make sense of them.

"You'll be late, Lisa."

Arata's voice makes her jump and he shakes his head at how easily she still scares.

"B-But…"

"He's fine."

Another groan.

"Are you sure?" Lisa glances at Touji, who now has his face buried in his hands.

"I'm sure, just go."

She doesn't look convinced but she turns around and quietly exits the apartment.

It's been approximately five minutes since Lisa left the apartment when Touji stands up and heads for the door.

"Leave her alone."

"I'm not going to follow her."

Arata doesn't need to say anything.

" _Fine_ , but I'm not going to interfere or anything. I'll just make sure the guy doesn't try anything funny, alright? I promise."

Arata shakes his head.

"I'll be invisible, I swear." Touji grabs his helmet, and on second thought he turns back to Arata. "Hey, can I borrow one of your shirts, and maybe that dark blue baseball cap you sometimes wear?"

"Seriously?"

"I'll be very cautious but just to be safe. I'd hate for her to recognize me and think that I'm spying on her and her date."

"That's exactly what you're going to be doing." But Arata goes into his room and comes out with a dark shirt and the cap. "You're absolutely ridiculous, and if she finds out I want you to leave me out of it."

Touji grins and nods. He hurries to change his outfit and is out the door just as fast. If he hurries he can catch up. At least he knows where she is heading.

When he arrives, Lisa is standing alone just outside the entrance of the amusement park.

His eyes narrow, resenting the guy's selected spot for their date just more than a little bit.

Lisa waits (they wait) for five more minutes until a tall guy with dark brown hair arrives, panting and looking apologetic for making her wait. He's so much taller than Lisa, he's probably even slightly taller than Nine. Lisa looks so tiny next to him.

Touji dislikes him already.

Lisa smiles at him and shakes her head, probably brushing off his apologies and telling him that it's okay.

The guy smiles at her and offers his hand as he points to the ticket booth.

So her classmate doesn't waste any time, huh. Touji shoves his hands in his pockets, staring rather gloomily at the scene.

He sees Lisa stare at the hand and then up at her much taller date.

Touji almost wants to look away.

He's glad he didn't when he sees Lisa start digging in her purse, taking out some coins, and finally placing them on the guy's open palm.

For a moment what's-his-name just stares and blinks at Lisa.

Touji laughs out loud, choking a little when he tries to stop. He clears his throat and lowers his cap when a couple of heads turn in his direction. Lisa is so precious.

When he looks back at the couple the guy is standing in line and Lisa waits by his side. No hand-holding.

Good. Keep your hands to yourself, pal.

They enter the park and Touji trails them from a distance after buying his own ticket.

They wander for a while, not getting in line for any of the attractions. The guy points at several rides but Lisa seems unsure. Touji notices she looks tense…nervous, maybe.

That Takahashi guy is making Lisa nervous.

Touji frowns when the guy places his hand on her shoulder and Lisa jumps, eyes wide as she looks up at him.

It's hard to make out the pale yellow amongst the cacophony of voices, luckily, they guy's voice is such a bright green it makes it easier to locate Lisa's soft hue when they're both speaking.

Her voice doesn't tell Touji much, it goes dim and brightens like a light bulb with a faulty voltage.

Does that only confirm that she is indeed very nervous? If she is…

Touji swallows. She must really like this Takahashi person.

The boy takes his hand off her shoulder, apologizes for startling her, and steps back. Giving her some space.

Lisa shakes her head and looks just as apologetic. She seems to ask him something, apparently trying to ease the tension.

The guy thinks for a moment and finally points to a place. His voice turns enthusiastic, and both Lisa and Touji follow the direction of his finger.

A Ferris Wheel.

Touji swallows and his eyes dart back to Lisa.

She hasn't moved or spoken. Her eyes are glued to the big mechanical ride. Her mouth opens and closes without any color coming out.

Touji can sense her unease, and he fears she'll get a bad flashback and crumble. He starts walking towards them, slowly at first, unsure about what he's going to do when he reaches them.

'You should've picked another ride. I'm taking her home.'

Maybe he'll just grab Lisa's hand and take her away.

But when he's only a couple of feet away Lisa snaps out of her shock and murmurs an 'okay'.

Touji stops in his tracks.

Lisa looks at Takahashi and offers him a timid smile.

The guy takes this as an indication for him to lead her, and taking her hand (with no hesitation this time) pulls her along and away from Touji.

"Lisa…"

He stares at them as they get lost in the crowd.

Is she really willing to go on a Ferris Wheel again for this guy?

He stands in the same spot for several minutes as some people push and shove past him. It's just like him, to be invisible. Maybe, after today, he will become invisible to Lisa as well.

She's just fine without him looking over her.

In fact, she no longer needs any looking over.

Who is he kidding anyway? He followed her because he was curious about the boy who had had the courage to do what he hadn't done in a year.

He had taken Lisa for granted, he had thought that he and Lisa were already…something.

He had been so stupid. It is clear now how much he still doesn't know about normal people.

He is the one who missed his chance.

He wanders a little, refusing to go back home just yet. Ni—Arata will definitely lecture him, throw in a few 'I told you so's' for good measure, and make him feel even more miserable with his undiluted sincerity.

Touji will also confess what he did to Lisa once she gets home. She'll probably get mad at him but he deserves it. He really shouldn't have come. It had been wrong.

He walks by some stands and decides to get Lisa a big penguin plush he happens to see in one of them. He just needs to knock a pyramid of bottles, which seems like an easy task at first, except, for some reason, his aim seems to be extremely off today. It takes him several tries, but he doesn't give up until he has the big, cuddly plush in his arms.

Now he's broke as well. Another lecture from Arata will be due.

Maybe she'll forgive him faster this way.

Still couldn't blame her if she didn't though.

He looks at the Ferris wheel in the distance before walking out of the park. By now Lisa and Takahashi must have reached the front of the long waiting line and were probably next in turn to ride it.

She will be fine.

"I'm home," he walks sulkily into the living room, his eyes downcast and the giant penguin dragging behind him.

"Touji?"

"Eh?" His head snaps up at the sudden burst of yellow before his eyes.

Lisa is standing in front of the couch now, looking confused, and Arata stares at him from his chair at the desk, eyes slightly wide at the sight of the penguin.

"Lisa?"

"Why are you dressed like that? What is that?"

Touji looks at Lisa, then at Arata. Apparently his friend hadn't said a thing to the girl. No matter how much he disagrees with his actions, he still has his back.

His brown eyes soften as he smiles and hands the plush over to her "It's for you. I'm afraid I have some explaining to do…"

"Huh?" Lisa lowers the huge bird to the floor so she can look at him.

"I… wait—what are you doing here already?" he looks her over, suddenly alarmed "Did something happen? Did that guy do something to upset you?" he steps forward, his hand is on her cheek as he inspects her face "Was it the Ferris Wheel? I knew you weren't ready but you looked fine when I —"

"I'm fine, I'm okay." Lisa is so flustered by his sudden concern, her brain doesn't process all of what he's saying. She taps the hand on her cheek reassuringly as she averts her eyes. "He was really nice to me, even when I told him I needed to cut our date short."

"Eh?"

His hand remains on her cheek and Lisa can feel the heat rushing to her face. Soon he'll be able to feel it too. She stutters and doesn't manage to get a clear sentence out.

"She got here a little over an hour ago," Arata offers instead.

"But why?"

Lisa swallows hard "I-I was worried about you, this morning you didn't seem to be feeling well. I felt really bad leaving you here like that."

His hand finally falls from her face and he looks genuinely remorseful. "Lisa… I'm so sorry. I ruined your date. I'm so, so very sorry. Please forgive me."

"No, no, you didn't." She grabs his hand and laces her fingers through his; the gesture is so natural that he can't help but compare it to the tense way in which she reacted to the other boy's touch. "I didn't want to go on that date to begin with."

His eyes widen and he doesn't know what to say because he hadn't expected to hear those words at all.

"I shouldn't have agreed to it, but I felt so bad saying no to him. He's one of my new friends and I didn't—he is so nice, really, but it felt so awkward and it wasn't his fault, I just—" she shakes her head "I didn't handle it well."

He blinks several times at her.

"Besides I already…" she lowers her voice until it's an incomprehensible mumble, then she pipes up again "We should go to that park together though, I kept thinking you would like it there."

"Really?" he can't help the smile pulling at his lips.

She nods enthusiastically.

Behind her Arata sighs loudly and throws his head back on the sofa. Such a couple of idiots, how did he get stuck with them?

"Looks like somebody else could use a visit to the amusement park," Touji taunts.

Lisa giggles and agrees.

Arata opens his eye and shoots them a mildly annoyed look "Seriously, do you two want to complicate things further by—" he sighs, a smile of his own drawing on his lips at the sight of their still intertwined hands "Idiots…"

 **010101001000110101**

 **Dolce S.-** So this wasn't exactly an AU, more like an Alternate ending thing, in which the Sphinx babies are alive, they have decided to use their civilian names as part of their plan to start living a normal life, and Lisa goes out on her first date. It was very weird using their civilian names. But I thought it would be only normal for them to switch back to them once they decided to finally try to live a normal life.


	5. Genderbend

**AU: Genderbend**

* * *

"You know, it's not that fun when you just stand there and take it." Hata has him up against a wall, a couple of his friends flanking them just in case he gets any ideas and tries to run. Not that he has the energy or will to run. He just wants this to be over and go home, tend to his father, and go to sleep; be done with this day.

Mishima chances a look around. No one is there, of course.

Club activities are done for the day and only a handful of students remain on school grounds. He should have left the moment activities were over but he had stalled, thinking it'd be best to wait for his bullies to leave first.

Such a huge mistake.

"Do what you have to do and get it over with, I have to get home." His words are defiant but his voice is barely above a whisper.

"What was that?" Hata's upper lip curls up and Mishima knows what's coming before he feels the fist collide against his jaw and the knee against his stomach. He keels over, coughing into the ground.

He's just caching his breath when he's janked up by the collar of his shirt and even though he's panting and his lip is cut he levels his stare to Hata's. He might not be one to fight back, knowing it would only make the other two join in, but he won't look away either.

Hata frowns, apparently feeling insulted by the action. "Why you-"

"What are you guys doing?"

Mishima tenses, recognizing the sweet voice of the newly transfered student who sits behind him during class. She had actively tried to befriend him all day, blatantly ignoring his awkward silence and nervous fidgeting.

His bullies all turn their heads at the pretty brunette that just appeared around the corner of the building, her short, curly hair bouncing just above her shoulders as she all but skips over to hem. She's small and frail looking and Mishima is suddenly more scared for her than for himself.

She stops a few feet away and tilts her head innocently as if trying hard to read the situation. Her bright hazel eyes scan over each of their faces and finally stop on Mishima's face.

He bites his lip, ignoring the pain as he does his best to try and hide the bruise on it. She shouldn't get involved in this.

To his surprise the guy holding him by the collar lets go and shoves his hands in his pockets, offering the girl a smile that does nothing but make his stomach churn in disgust.

"Hey you're the new transfer student, right?" Hata's eyes make a slow run over her body and Mishima clenches a fist. He turns to the girl and urges her with his eyes to go but she seems oblivious to the atmosphere.

"That's right," she answers "I'm Hisami Taji."

"Kind of an unusual name, Taji-chan."

Her lips curve slowly and her bright eyes narrow. For some reason, Mishima feels a chill run up his spine.

"Hisami-san, you should go, we're just...hanging out." the lie feels bitter on his tongue and he does his best not to cringe.

"Really? I could've sworn they were bullying you."

Her bluntness causes a long shocked silence among the group, right before Hata lets out a raucous laugh."Us men like to play rough sometimes, that's all."

"I bet. Three against one though, how very manly of you."

One of the guys growls at her but Hata lifts up a hand as if to keep him from pouncing "You got it all wrong, darling, we're really all just friends."

But Hisami is done talking to them and is moving towards Mishima, who has his face turned away and is wiping at his cut lip with his thumb.

"Hey-" Hata reaches for her arm as she walks past him.

She spins around quickly, before he can even fully turn to her, and slams her foot flat against the back of his knee, making his leg give out under him, and sending him tumbling forward to his hands and feet "Don't try to touch me again, you asshole."

Hata stares up at her, too shocked by the action and her language to say anything.

Mishima reaches over to pull Hisami back but the brunette steps toward Hata and glares at the two guys who seem unsure of how to handle the situation. She pulls her phone out of her skirt's pocket and holds it up. "I called the police before I walked over here, I'm guessing they'll be here any moment now. You should scram."

"You-" Hata stands up, fists clenched at his sides but when he turns to his friends they're already running off and away. With one last glare at Mishima he turns around and forces himself not to run.

"Are you alright?"

Mishima blinks at the girl, she's so petite he wonders how she managed to stand up to his three bullies like that.

"Hisami-san, you shouldn't have done that."

She doesn't say anything, and pokes his lip, making him wince. "Yes, I should have."

He stares at her, and she traces the reddened spot on his jaw with a finger, her eyes focused on it as if trying to decipher something.

"Thank you," He says softly and offers her a shy smile before stepping back "I should get home, I'm already late and my dad-" he trails off, realizing he was about to share more than he should have. "Thank you, again, and uh...It'd be best if you don't interfere again, those guys... you shouldn't get on their bad side."

She laughs, shrugging one shoulder "I'm not worried."

Mishima wishes he could have her confidence.

"Let's walk out together then," she says, picking up his bag and dusting it off for him. He reaches to take it from her but she shoulders it and starts walking ahead "Come on."

He stares after her for a moment, dumbfounded, before moving. Such an unusual girl.

There's a devilish look in her eyes when he catches up to her and she looks up at him "You know, there are several ways to handle your situation with those guys without having to be physical about it, my friend and I wouldn't mind helping you, she's in another class, no one would suspect her, plus, we won't be staying in this school that long."

 _Huh? Why would she get involved? Why does she even care? And what does she mean?_

He rubs the back of his neck nervously "Did you really call the police?"

"No, but I had backup."

She waves at a tall girl with long black hair who is waiting by the gates. Her perfectly shaped eyebrows arch over the rim of her glasses at the sight of them and she sighs, shaking her head.

"Are you sure your friend doesn't mind you getting involved in all of this?"

Hisami laughs again and hands him his bag before skipping over to her friend, a bright smile like the sun illuminating her features.

 **0001110101010101**

Dolce S.- Submission for zntweekend (part of znt1a) day two, genderbend. I couldn't decide what to call them (especially Lisa) so I stuck with last names, then I came across the name (surname, the internet is not very clear on that) of "Taji" which means yellow, and thought it would be perfect for Twelve :) plus it's so similar to Touji. Anyway, in this universe Twelve and Nine are still terrorists, but I had to change their first encounter with Lisa/Mishima-kun, for obvious reasons. I hope you enjoyed.


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